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Microplastics in the human brain

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: Microplastics in the human brain

#211

Post by throwaway81523 »

markerz wrote: post #67
throwaway81523 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did the amount of brain microplastic manage to double between 2016 and 2025? The amount of cars hasn't changed that much.

Perhaps you're thinking our body is at equilibrium with the amount of plastic in our environment, but the reality may be that our body accumulates microplastics from the environment and they become concentrated over time. Kind of like how we can't get rid of heavy metals from our body, so eating lots of fish accumulates mercury to toxic levels. But eating fish is a conscious decision whereas microplastic exposure is…

The hope is that the subjects in both samples have about the same age distribution. If they didn't, then the statistics are dubious.

Re: Microplastics in the human brain

#212

Post by ergl »

bluefirebrand wrote: post #208
ergl wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you never heard of a shopping caddy? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_caddy They're incredibly popular here, and yes, all supermarkets will have a lock stand near the checkout area so you can leave them there and easily reach for them as you're bagging your groceries. They're also foldable and/or small enough to fit in almost any closet.

Those little things would definitely not carry a weeks worth of groceries. They barely look like they carry more than I could by hand Never seen a grocery store with a lock stand for these things either

They can hold a surprisingly big amount of cargo if you pack things right. Here in Spain they're definitely used for weekly hauls of groceries, although it might be pushing it if have more than two kids.

Re: Microplastics in the human brain

#213

Post by ta8903 »

forgetfreeman wrote: post #196
andrewshadura wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's so crazy about that? Never seen a bicycle with panniers and a basket? Or a cargo bicycle?

I've seen what a week's worth of groceries looks like for four people and short of a rickshaw you ain't getting all of that on a bicycle with or without panniers. I'm fairly certain the respondent is coyly ignoring the headcount requirement in my original sneer.

>I've seen what a week's worth of groceries looks like for four people

>short of a rickshaw you ain't getting all of that on a bicycle with or without panniers

Four Americans, maybe.

Re: Microplastics in the human brain

#215

Post by robertlagrant »

drawkward wrote: post #195
robertlagrant wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Evaluate things based on reasoning, not source.

Evaluate based on both. Why remove any explanatory variables? And for what it is worth, the paper itself has plenty of other interesting findings that OP fails to discuss or rebut at all. OP asks an LLM some very basic statistics questions, putting into question their ability to credibly apply and interpret the LLM's findings. My interpretation of that evidence is that OP, a random internet commenter, just doesn't th…

> My interpretation of that evidence is that OP, a random internet commenter, just doesn't think it is credible that plastics are harmful to humans, and is grasping at plastic straws with cherry picked evidence and poor rebuttals to reach that "fact based" conclusion.

So what? If some things haven't been discussed or rebutted, then just say that the argument is incomplete for those reasons and move on.

Re: Microplastics in the human brain

#216

Post by kirubakaran »

repiret wrote: post #210
kirubakaran wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think tire wear is less than road wear for a given load?

Yes. Tire wear is caused by the surface of the tire being rubbed off through contact with the road. Most tire replacements happen because too much rubber has worn off of the contact surface. While that happens some in the other direction, that’s not what usually causes road failure. You can tell this because pot-holes and other road failures have abrupt edges - they are not the road material until nothing is left but…

Thanks, that was very helpful!

Re: Microplastics in the human brain

#217

Post by forgetfreeman »

ta8903 wrote: post #213
forgetfreeman wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen what a week's worth of groceries looks like for four people and short of a rickshaw you ain't getting all of that on a bicycle with or without panniers. I'm fairly certain the respondent is coyly ignoring the headcount requirement in my original sneer.

>I've seen what a week's worth of groceries looks like for four people >short of a rickshaw you ain't getting all of that on a bicycle with or without panniers Four Americans, maybe.

Pfft. 56,000 calories doesn't pack but so dense unless you're routinely feeding your family pemmican.

Re: Microplastics in the human brain

#218

Post by alana314 »

I think this is a conversion error. According to the ABC story about this the brain has 4800 micrograms of microplastics. That's alarming, but that is 4.8mg, which is .0048 grams. A plastic spoon is over 4g. They mixed up micro and milli and were off 1000x. ABC news: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/brain-tissue-higher-amounts-mi... Original study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03453-1

Re: Microplastics in the human brain

#219

Post by globular-toast »

bluefirebrand wrote: post #173
globular-toast wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't believe it. If you lived right next door to the grocery shop would you still only go once a week and stock up? Nobody wants less flexibility, rigid plans and higher maintenance costs. I think what you really want is a big house with lots of space away from other people and since you can't have your cake and eat it too you've sacrificed everything else.

You got me I actually did live in an apartment a block away from a grocery store and yes, you're right. I would not trade my current house for having a grocery store that close Because living in apartments sucks But even if I did live in my current house with a grocery store right next door, I still would prefer to go as few times a week as possible. Planning ahead and limiting how often I am at stores helps me treme…

> Because living in apartments sucks

This depends on a) what you want, and b) the apartment. If you want a garden, then an apartment is a non-starter, obviously. Also if you care about what the exterior of the building looks like that you'll want a house. But other than it doesn't make much difference.

The main difference for me is insulation from your neighbours. I've lived in good apartments and bad ones. The best ones you simply forget that you even have neighbours. The worst ones you can't forget because you can hear their conversations and them locking doors etc. The trouble is it's hard to tell what it's going to be like before you move in and this isn't the kind of thing that has standards or that anyone seems to think about. So for someone sensitive to noise, but also likes to make a lot of noise (I'm a musician), I'm resigned to living in a house too. But I'm not sure it has to be this way.

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